This directive mandates that "accredited modeling and simulation shall be applied, as appropriate, throughout the system life cycle in support of the various acquisition activities: requirements definition; program management; design and engineering; efficient test planning; result prediction; and to supplement actual test and evaluation; manufacturing; and logistics support. [Program Managers] shall integrate the use of modeling and simulation within program planning activities, plan for life cycle application, support, and reuse models and simulations, and integrate modeling and simulation across the functional disciplines."4

Regarding test and evaluation, it further states that "modeling and simulation shall be an integral part of test and evaluation planning...Test and evaluation programs shall be structured to integrate all developmental test and evaluation (DT&E), operational test and evaluation (OT&E), live-fire test and evaluation (LFT&E), and modeling and simulation activities conducted by different agencies as an efficient continuum. All such activities shall be part of a strategy to provide information regarding risk and risk mitigation, to provide empirical data to validate models and simulations, to permit an assessment of the attainment of technical performance specifications and system maturity, and to determine whether systems are operationally effective, suitable, and survivable for intended use."

For operational test and evaluation, it states that
"The use of modeling and simulation shall be considered during test planning.
Whenever possible, an operational assessment shall draw upon test results with
the actual system, or sub-system, or key components thereof, or with
operationally meaningful surrogates. When actual testing is not possible to
support an operational assessment, such assessments may rely upon computer
modeling, simulations (preferably with real operators in the loop), or an
analysis of information contained in key program documents. However, as a
condition for proceeding beyond LRIP, initial operational test and evaluation
shall not comprise an operational assessment based exclusively on computer
modeling; simulation; or, an analysis of system requirements, engineering
proposals, design specifications, or any other information contained in
program documents (10 USC2399). The extent of modeling and simulation usage in
conjunction with operational and test evaluation shall be explained in the
Test and Evaluation Master Plan..."7

For Live Fire Test and Evaluation on other than ACAT 1A programs, it
states: "...Alternatively, in the case of a covered system (or covered product
improvement program for a covered system), the USD(A&T) or the CAE
[Component Acquisition Executive] may waive the application of the required
survivability and lethality tests and instead allow testing of a system or
program by firing munitions likely to be encountered in combat at components,
subsystems, and subassemblies, together with performing design analyses,
modeling and simulation, and analysis of combat data in lieu of testing the
complete system configured for combat."8

Regarding the four key systems engineering tasks of
requirements analysis, functional analysis/allocation, design synthesis and
verification, and system analysis and control, it states that "The
verification of the design shall include a cost-effective combination of
design analysis, design modeling and simulation, and demonstration and
testing..."9